1.

4 Assessing Sustainability
Environmental indicators and ecological
footprints can be used to assess sustainability.
• These are useful as you can measure them currently then again after
a period of time.
 Environmental Indicators

• Factors such as biodiversity, pollution,

population or climate may be
used quantitatively as environmental
indicators of sustainability.
• These factors can be applied on a range
of scales, from local to global.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

 The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment began in

2001 after the then Secretary General of the UN
called for its formation in 2000. It was a
collaborative research project involving natural and
social scientists. They measured 24 indicators of
ecosystems and their services.

 They found that 60% of these services are being

used unsustainably and thus are being degraded.
These include fresh water, capture fisheries, air and
water purification, and the regulation of regional
and local climates.
Millennium Development Goals become
the Sustainable Development Goals

The Millennium
Development Goals
expired in 2015 and the
world agreed to the
Sustainable
Development Goals.
 Assessment tip
• You need to be able to discuss how
environmental indicators such as MA can
be used to evaluate the progress of a
project to increase sustainability.
Environmental Indicator Case Study 1

San Francisco Zero Waste 2020

San Francisco started this ambitious project in 2000 as part

of their Sustainability City project.

There are four levels to the strategy.

1. Reduce
2. Reuse
3. Recycle
4. Compost
This should reduce environmental impacts such as climate
change.
Environmental Indicator Case Study 1

• San Francisco Zero Waste 2020

Use of Environmental Indicators
• In 2002, San Francisco set a goal of 75% diversion by
2010 and Zero Waste by 2020.
• They had measures of the amount of waste recycled
and the amount of composting done per day.
• They also measured the amount of waste going to
landfill.
• These measures allowed the goal to be tracked and
evaluated.
Environmental Indicator Case Study 1

Strategies
• In 2009 the city passed a law requiring citizens and businesses to sort their waste into
recyclables, compost and landfill trash.
• There are three bins for everyone; green (compost), blue (recyclables), black (trash). A
single stream recycling separation system is used.
• A private firm "Recology" was formed to deal with all the waste. The city sets and
approves the targets for Recology.
• Composting involves first sorting the materials given for recycling ("mistakes are made"),
ground, aerated and watered. The resulting compost is used in the local agriculture,
including vinyards, grow cover crops, 
• The city uses a form of taxation (rates) to subsidise the process. Businesses receive rate
reductions for their reduction in waste production.
• Along side the requirement for sorting waste, the city has also implemented
• a plastic bag ban in some shops
• polystyrene ban for takeout food
• reuirement to recycle construction debris
• cigarette butt penalty
• Education and outreach programs
• To make the final move to 100% success, the state needs to work with producers to
improve product design and reduce wasteful packaging, taking responsibility for the entire
life cycle of the product and encouraging deposit schemes for packing return.
Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) - a tool
for sustainable development
• An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is
carried out before any major development
project.

• An EIA is an evaluation of the current

ecosystem or environment and likely impacts
from the development.

• An EIA estimates change to the environment

that occurs as a result of a project, and helps
to decide whether the advantages outweigh
the disadvantages.
1.4.U6 EIAs incorporate baseline studies before a development project is undertaken.
They assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of the project, predicting
and evaluating possible impacts and suggesting mitigation strategies for the project.
They are usually followed by an audit and continued monitoring. Each country or
region has different guidance on the use of EIAs.

Stage 1: Screening

The Screening process helps decide

whether an EIA is necessary, what needs to
be investigate and what needs to be
measured.
1.4.U6 EIAs incorporate baseline studies before a development project is undertaken.
They assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of the project, predicting
and evaluating possible impacts and suggesting mitigation strategies for the project.
They are usually followed by an audit and continued monitoring. Each country or
region has different guidance on the use of EIAs.

Stage 2: Scoping
This is the first stage where public consultation takes
place.
Baseline study-What are the
• Environmental impacts
• Social impacts
• Economics impacts
1.4.U6 EIAs incorporate baseline studies before a development project is
undertaken. They assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of the
project, predicting and evaluating possible impacts and suggesting mitigation
strategies for the project. They are usually followed by an audit and continued
monitoring. Each country or region has different guidance on the use of EIAs.

• Baseline looks at
• Environmental
• Ecology
• Habitat type and abundance
• Species list
• Species diversity
• List of endangered species
1.4.U6 EIAs incorporate baseline studies before a development project is
undertaken. They assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of the
project, predicting and evaluating possible impacts and suggesting mitigation
strategies for the project. They are usually followed by an audit and continued
monitoring. Each country or region has different guidance on the use of EIAs.

• Baseline looks at
• Environmental
• Ecology
• Habitat type and abundance
• Species list
• Species diversity
• List of endangered species
• Geology
• Land use
• Soil
• Hydrology
1.4.U6 EIAs incorporate baseline studies before a development project is
undertaken. They assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of the
project, predicting and evaluating possible impacts and suggesting mitigation
strategies for the project. They are usually followed by an audit and continued
monitoring. Each country or region has different guidance on the use of EIAs.
• Baseline looks at
• Ecological
• Social
• Human population
• Noise
• Traffic
• Visual appearance
• Health
1.4.U6 EIAs incorporate baseline studies before a development project is undertaken.
They assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of the project, predicting
and evaluating possible impacts and suggesting mitigation strategies for the project.
They are usually followed by an audit and continued monitoring. Each country or
region has different guidance on the use of EIAs.

• Baseline looks at
• Ecological
• Social
• Economics
• Cost
• Benefit
• Jobs created
Evaluation

• This process needs time and expertise which

may not always be valued by the developers (or
decision makers) who are paying for the EIA.
• The survey may be biased if carried out by
surveyors under the employment of the
developer.
• The survey may be done under the pressure of
project deadlines and thus miss important
information or viewpoints.
• Political interference is possible at this stage
from lobbying and biased directives. This can
be influenced by commercial interests.
1.4.U6 EIAs incorporate baseline studies before a development project is undertaken.
They assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of the project, predicting
and evaluating possible impacts and suggesting mitigation strategies for the project.
They are usually followed by an audit and continued monitoring. Each country or
region has different guidance on the use of EIAs.

• Stage 3: Mitigation and Report Writing

• An important part of the EIA process is to identify risks and
suggest mitigation strategies for the project. These are designed
to limit the impact of the project and protect the environment.

• This may result in some changes to the construction plan.

• A cost-benefit analysis is provided to the decision makers.

• In developments where an area is to be flooded, the area should

be designed to provide recreation areas
Evaluation

• Effective mitigation will depend upon

effective enforcement.

• No matter how good the EIA is, if the

project is very large, e.g. The Three
Gorges Dam, it is inevitable that there
will be a lot of ecological destruction.
1.4.U6 EIAs incorporate baseline studies before a development project is undertaken.
They assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of the project, predicting
and evaluating possible impacts and suggesting mitigation strategies for the project.
They are usually followed by an audit and continued monitoring. Each country or region
has different guidance on the use of EIAs.
• Stage 4: Decision Making
• There is not necessarily a requirement
to implement an EIA’s proposals, and
many socio-economic factors may
influence the decisions made.

• Again, at this point, there is a

requirement for public involvement.
Evaluation

The decision makers may choose to ignore the

recommendations of the EIA or prioritise
short term economic goals over environmental
impacts.

The decision makers may be open to

corruption.

Following the EIA process, the decision

makers should choose the "right" decision
based upon the voices of local communities.
1.4.U6 EIAs incorporate baseline studies before a development project is undertaken.
They assess the environmental, social and economic impacts of the project,
predicting and evaluating possible impacts and suggesting mitigation strategies for
the project. They are usually followed by an audit and continued monitoring. Each
country or region has different guidance on the use of EIAs.

Stage 5: Implementation and Monitoring

• Once the development is approved then an important element
of the EIA is for continued monitoring of the site and the
implementation of the mitigation strategies. This gives a
chance to amend the strategies if they are not working as
expected.

• This helps to ensure that developers are keeping to any

recommended procedures and that any problems are identified
before any damage is irreversible.
Evaluation
This process can alert authorities to any unforeseen damage to environment but
it continues to add to the time and money involved in the project.

Although concerns may be raised during construction, they are not always acted
upon to mitigate the impact.

This process ensures that restoration and its costs are the responsibility of
the developer.

Sometimes a developer may prefer to take the penalty (financial) from the
government that implement any mitigation strategies.

The damage may be identified too late after it is past the point of reversibility.

Developers may pressurise the government to pay for restoration and thus pass
on the costs to the taxpayers.
Criticisms of EIAs
• There is a lack of a standard practice or training for
practitioners.

• It is difficult to define the system boundaries of a project. If

a dam is going to be built, where do you start and stop with your
impacts?

• Ecosystems are complex systems and it is very difficult to

predict what will happen when something is changed. This is
because they are non-linear relationships and emergent
properties are very difficult to predict. This is something that
politicians often find very difficult to grasp.
Ecological Footprints